Website design By BotEap.comOur insider tips on the questions to ask your potential Strata Manager.

Website design By BotEap.comGood or bad, most people judge an entire strata agency by the working relationship they have with their strata manager.

Website design By BotEap.comWe’ve put together this short list of questions to ask yourself before making the decision to appoint a new Strata agent.

Website design By BotEap.comHow many buildings does the proposed new Strata Manager already handle?

Website design By BotEap.comYour entire strat experience depends on this one simple question. Most agents handle large portfolios, to the point where they may spend most of their time putting out fires instead of giving you the proactive service you’re looking for.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat is included in the monthly management fee

Website design By BotEap.comMost agencies charge a monthly management fee that covers the agreed services. Works carried out outside of the agreed services are charged as an additional fee. You can negotiate with an agency to have fixed-price out-of-pocket payments to give you a clearer understanding of how much your plan will pay per year.

Website design By BotEap.comRatings

Website design By BotEap.comThe Strata Manager who will manage your building must have at least a Certificate 4 in Strata Title Management. Ideally this would have been obtained through a Tafe course. It is possible to obtain a Certificate 4 in Strata Management by paying to do a 2 week course. It’s also a good idea to ask how long they’ve been with the agency.

Website design By BotEap.comExperience

Website design By BotEap.comWhen approaching a potential new agent, it’s a good question to ask how much experience the strat manager who will actually be managing your building has, and in the event things go wrong, how much experience they have attending mediation and court hearings.

Website design By BotEap.comReports

Website design By BotEap.comHow often are financial reports produced and delivered by just the treasurer to the entire committee? Ideally this will be available on a monthly basis.

Website design By BotEap.comService Level Agreements

Website design By BotEap.comStrata management is customer service. Your new agent should be able to provide you with timeframes in which your requests will be processed, emails answered, and phone calls returned.

Website design By BotEap.comYour money, your input

Website design By BotEap.comIt’s your building and you don’t necessarily want the Strata administrator to do everything, so it’s important to clarify how much input you’ll have to approve creditor payments and what level of input the committee will have when the agent is preparing the proposed budget.

Website design By BotEap.comterms of agreement

Website design By BotEap.comWhen appointing a new agent, most will try to lock him up for a maximum period of 3 years. If the services do not meet your expectations, you will be locked in for the contract term, unless your scheme decides to pay for the remaining contract term. It is a better option to sign a one-year contract and see how things go.